Whole Foods Reaches Installation Deals With SolarCity, NRG Energy
March 08 2016 - 11:10AM
Dow Jones News
Whole Foods Market Inc. reached separate agreements with
SolarCity Corp. and NRG Energy Inc. to install rooftop solar-power
systems on many of the organic- and natural-foods supermarket
chain's stores, giving SolarCity's stock a boost.
SolarCity agreed to install solar-power systems on the rooftops
of nearly a quarter of Whole Foods Market Inc.'s locations across
the U.S. Under the SolarCity agreement, Whole Foods plans to
retrofit 100 of its 434 U.S. stores with rooftop solar systems.
SolarCity will design each location's solar-power systems and plans
to begin installation this spring.
Whole Foods will receive a discount on solar power purchased
from SolarCity, locking in rates for an undisclosed number of
years. Financial terms weren't provided.
Separately, NRG Energy plans to install rooftop solar systems at
as many as 84 Whole Foods stores and distribution centers across
nine states. Financial terms weren't provided.
SolarCity's shares, down 53% this year, rose 9.6% to $26.49 in
recent trading. However, NRG Energy fell 4.7% to $13.
Last month, SolarCity posted stronger-than-expected results for
the fourth quarter, but acknowledged that it was continuing to fall
short of its installation goals.
SolarCity, whose chairman is billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk,
said it has seen strong residential installations, but it continues
to underperform in commercial installations as big projects often
miss construction deadlines.
The company had forecast that its first-quarter installations
will increase 18% year-to-year but decline 34% from the fourth
quarter. The company cited its decision to shut down its Nevada
business after the state's public utilities commission recently
said that solar-panel users would get paid for their energy at
lower rates.
Princeton, N.J.-based NRG Energy, which last year had unveiled
plans to split off its renewable energy business under then-chief
executive David Crane, recently said that it was reintegrating its
renewable energy business that focuses on commercial and industrial
customers back into NRG. Decisions are expected in the second
quarter on other parts of the renewables business, including its
residential rooftop solar business.
Mr. Crane, who stepped down in December, was the architect of
the company's strategy to expand NRG's fleet of gas- and
coal-burning power plants and build a presence in solar and wind
power. But a billion-dollar investment in renewable energy failed
to generate the profits that Mr. Crane had anticipated and became a
drag on earnings and the company's stock. In September, Mr. Crane
announced a new strategy to split off NRG's renewable-energy
enterprises and find investors willing to sustain them until they
become profitable.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 08, 2016 10:55 ET (15:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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